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CNN Live Event/Special
All the Best, All the Worst 2023. Aired 10-11p ET
Aired December 29, 2023 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[22:00:00]
B.J. CHISHOLM, MANAGING PARTNER, ALTSHULER BERZON LLP: So, we are bringing a preliminary injunction to try to stop the constitutional violations that we are seeing in the parole system. We filed that last week and are hoping to have a hearing in the next month or two.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN HOST: B.J. Chisholm, we'll be paying close attention to this year, especially on this show. So, please keep us updated on where this goes from here. Thank you for joining us tonight.
CHISHOLM: Thank you.
COLLINS: And thank you all so much for joining us tonight and every night. The Source has launched this year. A great moment for us as we close out 2023. I hope you all have a very safe and Happy New Year. I hope you're all rooting on Alabama on New Year's Day when they play against Michigan.
We'll see you in 2024, because up next here, CNN is going to take a special look back at 2023 with All the Best, All the Worst, starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN HOST (voice-over): 2023 was a year like no other in big news, politics, movies, music, culture, science, sports and more. Everyone seemed to be going all-in, all the time. And now it's time to take a look at the whole crazy year with our guests, Laura Barron- Lopez, Omar Jimenez, Laura Coates, John Berman, Charlotte Wilder, Coy Wire, and Max Foster. We're playing for keeps. It's All the Best, All the Worst 2023.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (on camera): Welcome. I'm Tom Foreman, and it's worth asking, how did we get through the past 12 months? Many of us hoped it would be easier than recent tumultuous years. And there were moments of accomplishment, community and joy. But we were also challenged, divided over issues, and often unable to agree even on what we want. And it was wildly apparent where we begin with the biggest news stories of the year.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) FOREMAN (voice-over): The worst big news for many Americans started in their pocketbooks.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: The economy this year was an absolute emotional roller coaster.
FOREMAN: Unemployment was down. Earnings were up at any moment. A lot was going well.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: But even then, for a lot of people, it just didn't feel quite right.
LAURA COATES, CNN HOST: It's flying high in April, shot down in May.
FOREMAN: Worries about inflation, bank failures and debt became an inferno of fear, fanned by the most unaffordable housing market since the early 1980s.
CHARLOTTE WILDER, HOST, MEADOWLARK MEDIA: I'm a millennial. We don't buy houses.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: I think the reality for a lot of people is that they haven't seen any benefit of the growth in economies. They've just seen the rich getting richer.
FOREMAN: Best development for union fans, a steady march of labor action among writers and actors, coal miners, healthcare workers, automakers and more.
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think this was the year that people put their feet down to try and say, all right, enough is enough.
FOREMAN: The worst news for a rattled workforce, the surge of artificial intelligence capable of drawing, writing, creating fake video, and what looks like real people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is Ivan. What's your name?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My name is Jane.
LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I'm someone who loves sci- fi and I really do think that this could run out of control.
WIRE: Artificial intelligence is both fascinating and frustrating.
FOREMAN: Some big companies are betting billions it is the best new tech trend, but it could also affect 300 million jobs worldwide.
BERMAN: Look, for me, A.I. begins and ends with the Terminator, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll be back.
BERMAN: If there are robots that are going to take over the earth and enslave mankind, then I'm nervous.
Short of that, I'm intrigued, and I want to know where it's going. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trust me.
FOREMAN: Internationally, the best continuing resistance goes to Ukraine, closing in on two years of standing up to Russian invaders.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Evil cannot be trusted.
JIMENEZ: The stakes are, of course, people's lives. And the stakes for Ukraine is they're fighting for their very existence.
FOREMAN: The worst warning sign, for Vladimir Putin, it was a brief uprising by his own troops. But for Ukraine, the worry came from some U.S. Lawmakers who want to pull back on assistance.
FOSTER: And the reality is Europe cannot afford to support Ukraine pushing forward without American support. If America is not putting money in, it's very difficult to see how Ukraine can keep pushing forward.
[22:05:00]
FOREMAN: The worst new conflict, which is an old one, came from Hamas militants who launched a surprise attack on Israel, murdering, ransacking and taking hostages. Then Israel hit back hard.
BERMAN: You run to the papers or your phone to see if this conflict has spread. And every day, there's a very real possibility that it might.
FOREMAN: Demonstrations, anger and attacks reared up in many places, far from the initial clash.
COATES: I've been really surprised by the rise of anti-Semitism.
FOREMAN: The best way to rise to the times goes to King Charles. He waited 70 years to gain the throne of the United Kingdom, but his coronation was filled with modern touches.
FOSTER: He didn't justify the Lord's Ladies, the aristocrats, the establishment. He invited a cross-section society. He reflected different faiths in the service. And that was a big shift, really, from the queen's coronation.
FOREMAN: The best and worst case of high anxiety, give it to that Chinese balloon drifting over the U.S. for a week before being shot down.
BARRON-LOPEZ: If I had thought that the Chinese were spying on us, I would have expected it to be in the form of like a robot human or an unidentified flying object that can move faster than the speed of light.
FOREMAN: China said it was just a weather balloon. Still, it added to growing friction with the U.S. over military, economic and political security.
WILDER: I think they're going to have a very hard time existing in the lunchroom together.
Foreign Policy Expert Charlotte Wilder, like and subscribe.
FOREMAN: Closer to home, there were other worries from that toxic train crash in Ohio.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Flames above the treetops, well over 100 feet in the air, and it was terrifying.
FOREMAN: To protest after Tyre Nichols died following a police beating in Memphis.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a failing of basic humanity toward another individual.
FOREMAN: There were no signs of any real progress addressing mass shootings. This year, they happened in California, Utah, Texas, Tennessee, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maine, and so many more places.
BARRON-LOPEZ: It feels as though people in America are just becoming desensitized to the fact that this is a regular aspect of our life now.
COATES: When I was young, I was doing the tornado drills. Now, my kids, they're in fifth and fourth grade, and they have mass shooting drills.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Guilty verdict. Verdict, guilty. Verdict, guilty.
FOREMAN: On the crime front in South Carolina, Alex Murdaugh was convicted of the headline-grabbing murder of his wife and son.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rex Heuerman, an architect.
FOREMAN: In New York, DNA from a pizza box led to the arrest of an architect in the Gilgo Beach murders. He says he's not guilty.
In Las Vegas, a man was arrested in the shooting death of legendary rapper Tupac Shakur almost 30 years past. He also says he didn't do it.
But in Alabama, Joran van der Sloot told authorities he did kill teenager Natalee Holloway back in 2005, ending her family's long wait for confirmation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's over. Joran van der Sloot is no longer the suspect in my daughter's murder. He is the killer.
FOREMAN: Hurricane and tropical storms hit both U.S. coasts. Tornado's hammered the midsection, and floods rose all over. It's all, once again, the best call for action on climate change.
COATES: It's here and it's real.
WIRE: It does seem if we don't do anything, things are going to continue to get worse. FOREMAN: Worst case of smoking. Give it to Canada, where forest fires were so big, 70 million people went under air quality alerts in the U.S.
WILDER: And you're like, oh my god, it was orange here for a little while. It was apocalyptic.
BERMAN: This was the worst thing to happen to us from Canada since Tim Hortons.
FOREMAN: Still, the most stunning and devastating natural disaster, the wildfire that swept Hawaii.
JIMENEZ: You don't think about wildfires and Hawaii in the same sentence.
FOREMAN: More than 100 people dead, thousands homeless, scores driven into the ocean.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, we swam and tread water there holding the kids.
FOREMAN: The best news, new homes, new businesses, and new hopes are rising from the ashes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN (on camera): We're just getting started and there is so much more ahead. Coming up, brace yourself for the latest innovation cruise control.
[22:10:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): It will be all lights, cameras and action as we go through the best films. Later, we'll have fighting words in the halls of Congress.
SEN. MARKWAYNE MULLIN (R-OK): You want to do it now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd love to do it right now.
MULLIN: We'll stand your butt up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You stand your butt up.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): Oh, hold on. Oh, stop it.
And we will throw in some Taylor-made music too.
It's All the Best, all The worst 2023.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Let's go to the movies where no film was more in the pink than Barbie.
She elbowed aside a pack of He-Man heroes to become one of the best box office hits, with global ticket sales close to $1.5 billion. That's with a B as in Barbie.
WILDER: I think it is an absolute triumph. I've watched it many times.
BERMAN: Disclosure, I worked for the same company that Barbie works for. But it was a wonderful movie.
FOREMAN: Of course superhero films did well too. The worst trend, how many were sequels?
Sure, they were all packed with adventure and stunning visual effects.
[22:15:00]
And yet our pick for the best flick in that genre relied on just dazzling drawing and amazing animation.
JIMENEZ: Yes, Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse is definitely my favorite superhero movie from this year.
FOREMAN: Action films were roaring through sequel land 2, John Wick, Fast X, Creed III.
COATES: My favorite one was Mission Impossible. I'm a sucker for any spy thriller.
FOREMAN: Best stunt overplayed in the worst way, Tom Cruise's motorcycle jump in the latest Mission Impossible saga, which, of course, proved to be completely possible.
FOSTER: Yes, I mean, he's phenomenal, isn't he?
FOREMAN: And while another old favorite drew solid audiences, it may have been the worst way to wrap up a long franchise. Ah, Indiana, what were you thinking?
Best big movie about bigger than life characters, Oppenheimer, even if the film was slightly longer than World War II.
BARRON-LOPEZ: I know it was three hours long, but actually the first time I watched it, it didn't feel three hours to me.
FOREMAN: The best movie about the worst parts of business, got to give it to Dumb Money. The best movie to sneak in a reunion, Air found Matt Damon and Ben Affleck telling the story of Nike.
WILDER: I like to refer to air as Good Will Hunting Part 2, actually.
FOREMAN: And the worst idea to charge into any theater.
BARRON-LOPEZ: I liked Cocaine Bear. I was busting up, laughing the whole time in the movie theater.
FOREMAN: In kids' films, the Super Mario Brothers, Puss in Boots, and The Little Mermaid rose to the top.
WIRE: We're seeing a lot of effort to make old classic movies more diverse. And I think that's a good thing.
COATES: But you know what? A Little Mermaid makes me hungry when I watch it for seafood.
FOREMAN: Five Nights at Freddy's scared up a ton of money, even as many true horror fans found it five nights too many.
WILDER: I do not like to be scared. Sorry. What's going on around me is scary enough.
FOREMAN: Best way to work the box office, Sound of Freedom was heavily pushed by churches and made about a quarter billion dollars worldwide.
There were as always late arrivals rushing into the Oscar race, some with real shots at the top prize.
But our award for the best return by one of the best directors goes to Martin Scorsese and Killers of the Flower Moon, great story, great cast, great filmmaking.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN (on camera): Interestingly, one of the hottest films at the box office this year was a concert movie custom-made for everyone who did not get into the sold out tour. Yes, it's time to talk about this year's music and the woman who was playing for keeps like no one else.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN (voice-over): It was no contest. The best of the best in pop music was the unbeatable, unstoppable force of nature, Taylor Swift.
JIMENEZ: These shows weren't just a series of shows. These were masterpieces.
FOREMAN: She spent the whole year making music history, grabbing headlines.
BERMAN: She gets good seats at football games now, really good seats.
FOREMAN: And blasting her own songs off the charts with her other songs.
WILDER: I'm obsessed with Taylor Swift. I think she's a brilliant songwriter. I think she's a brilliant singer. I think she's a brilliant performer, producer.
FOSTER: And she does it all by just sort of dedicating herself to her fans, giving them what they want and really caring.
FOREMAN: Swift even eclipsed Beyonce who had her own massive tour in film. The two of them and the Grammys made one thing clear above all else. COATES: It's been a summer of girl power.
FOREMAN: This year was undeniably the best for Bad Bunny.
BARRON-LOPEZ: I like Bad Bunny. I'm one of those Mexicans who can't speak Spanish, but I still love listening to Latin music.
FOREMAN: Not the worst for Drake.
WIRE: Drake is still going. He's like the Tom Brady of music.
FOREMAN: And it was solid for the weekend too.
JIMENEZ: This was a pretty good year for music.
FOREMAN: But it was hard for anyone to top the likes of Doja Cat painting the town red.
COATES: I mean, the lyrics are probably not nine-year-olds ready, but my daughter loved it.
FOREMAN: And our best breakout group, Boy Genius.
WILDER: I love boy genius. Shout out to the boys.
FOREMAN: Best examples of breakup bravado.
Selena Gomez killed it with Single Soon. And Miley Cyrus set it with flowers.
JIMENEZ: It feels just like an authentic voice. It doesn't feel like she's putting on an act.
FOREMAN: Worst case of the blues, Ed Sheeran.
For all that, Billboard's song of the summer was a country tune for the first time in almost 50 years, Morgan Wallen's Last Night.
At the Country Music Association Awards, the best song went to Luke Combs cover of a Tracy Chapman classic.
COATES: Luke Combs loved that song and he did it justice, and she agreed. I'm happy.
FOREMAN: Best breakout country hit, Megan Moroney's Tennessee Orange.
Best comeback, give it to The Beatles in the form of a decades old demo gussied up and released as Now and Then.
BERMAN: No matter how good the song was, it was lovely to hear all of them on something again.
FOREMAN: And our best TikTok track of the year because, yes, that's a thing.
FOSTER: Well, there are artists now who signed to TikTok rather than a record label.
FOREMAN: Little Boo Thing by Paul Russell.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN (on camera): We have more fresh things heading your way, including the Wrestlemania that passes for politics and the white hot fight for the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Plus, killer whales on the prowl getting messy in Miami, and the worst family in the world.
It's getting serious from All the Best, All the Worst 2023.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[22:25:00]
FOREMAN: In politics, basic facts were once again under fire. With the two main parties far apart on almost every issue, it was so divided, so cutthroat, so vicious, you can only wonder who would want to be in office.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Up against inflation worries, immigration issues, overseas entanglements and unproven accusations of influence peddling involving his son, President Joe Biden faced the worst trend for anyone seeking re-election, plummeting public confidence.
BERMAN: He's way under 50 percent, and that's a bright flashing warning sign.
FOREMAN: He argued unemployment is low, job creation high, and America's international reputation is rising.
JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: The state of the union is strong.
FOREMAN: But even many Democrats told pollsters they were disappointed.
BARRON-LOPEZ: you're seeing a lot of young voters, Arab and Muslim voters be very angry with the president in a way that we haven't seen in a long time. And if that persists, it could cause a big problem for him in swing states like Michigan.
FOREMAN: The Democratic president's troubles were the best thing for all the Republicans vying for the White House in 2024.
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Biden's neglect has been atrocious.
FOREMAN: But, first, they have to get past Donald Trump.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, thank you very much.
FOREMAN: He spent the year polling so far ahead for his party's nomination, he refused to answer his challenger's rare attacks.
NIKKI HALEY, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think that he put us $8 trillion in debt and our kids are never going to forgive us for that.
JIMENEZ: Yes, he may have skipped maybe all the debates by the time this whole process is over.
COATES: It is shocking to me that in a year before a presidential election that his opponents cannot even capitalize on it.
FOREMAN: But the twice impeached former president was also up against the worst number, 91. That's how many felony counts have been filed against him amid allegations of hush money payments, business fraud, illegally attempting to overturn his lost election and hoarding classified documents.
Say cheese.
Even with numerous Trump insiders and January 6th rioters confronting harsh justice, he insists all the charges against him.
[22:30:00]
TRUMP: This is a scam.
WILDER: I feel like we've come full circle in politics -- has become professional wrestling in the worst possible way.
FOREMAN: And his party?
LINDSEY GRAHAM, REPUBLICAN SENATOR: Fraud.
FOREMAN: Seventy percent of Republicans still believe the worst lie that Joe Biden in 2020 did not really win.
LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: The majority of the Republican establishment has not severed themselves from Donald Trump. They've enabled him, they've resuscitated him after the January 6th insurrection.
FOREMAN: The worst family feud. Give it to Congress where lawmakers on the far right turned picking a House Speaker into blood sport, reluctantly accepting California's Kevin McCarthy, booting him out.
UNKNOWN: The office of Speaker of the House of the United States House of Representatives is hereby declared vacant.
FOREMAN: Then grinding through several more candidates to finally agree on Louisiana's Mike Johnson.
BARRON-LOPEZ: I've covered Congress since 2013 and I've never seen anything like it.
UNKNOWN: I oppose this measure.
FOREMAN: Deep divisions between and within the parties led to the worst stalemate in ages, which drew the government to the brink of a shutdown twice, bristled with obstruction and made tempers run short.
MARKWAYNE MULLIN (R-OK), U.S. SENATOR: You want to do it now?
SEAN O'BRIEN, TEAMSTERS PRESIDENT: I'd love to do it right now.
MULLIN: Well, stand your butt up then.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: I think the rest of the world has looked at what's happened in Washington in politics in recent years, but particularly this year, as complete chaos and completely unsettling as well.
ERIC ADAMS, NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: We are fully cooperating.
FOREMAN: The year brought plenty of accusations of malfeasance, the extraordinary expulsion of a congressman, and plenty of denials, too.
BOB MENENDEZ (D-NJ), U.S. SENATOR: Not only will I be exonerated, but I still will be the New Jersey's Senior Senator.
FOREMAN: But the worst way to make people all judgy came from revelations that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas accepted lavish gifts from Uber-wealthy conservatives for years.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I think a lot of people were shocked to learn how non-existent the ethics guardrails have been around the Supreme Court until this point.
FOREMAN: The justices finally announced new public ethics rules, but --
WILDER: I think the Supreme Court has become so partisan.
UNKNOWN: Shame, shame.
FOREMAN: Many political analysts believe the most explosive issue in the upcoming election could still be the court's 2022 ruling against abortion rights.
BARRON-LOPEZ: It is going to be a massive factor in the 2024 election. Anytime, even in red states, when voters have been asked if they want more abortion access or less, they have chosen more abortion access.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: I think the country right now at least feels more divided than it was four years ago because a big division, a big fissure occurred four years ago. And I think that has kind of remained and built to this sort of boiling point.
FOREMAN: Worst reality for many voters, it's looking likely they will once again have to choose between the oldest candidates ever for president.
FOSTER: Obviously, I think a lot of the world sees two very old men who have their own weaknesses going into the most powerful position in the world and that raises a lot of questions.
FOREMAN: Questions like is there any chance of a third contender slipping in?
DWAYNE JOHNSON, ACTOR: If that's ultimately what the people would want then of course I would consider it.
FOREMAN: Maybe, but he's not running, at least not in 2024.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN: We are rocking on. Coming up, we will have highlights from the wild and wonderful world of sports. The shocking news about electric cars. And in just about --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN: Six months.
UNKNOWN: That's being what? Confident?
UNKNOWN: Conky. Crazy.
FOREMAN: No, it'll just be minutes. Then we'll have our favorite TV shows. Maybe yours, too. It's "All The Best, All The Worst 2023."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[22:35:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN (voice-over): In sports, the best NFL team was the Kansas City Chiefs who edged out the Philadelphia Eagles in a barn burner.
WIRE: This was just two points shy of tying the highest scoring Super Bowl ever.
WILDER: And the Rihanna halftime show. Are you kidding me? She did it pregnant?
WIRE: I think this game, it represented a takeover. With Tom Brady retiring, this was now Patrick Mahomes League.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news right now, a serious injury on the field during the Buffalo Bills Cincinnati Bengals game.
FOREMAN: The best comeback from the worst moment. Give that to Buffalo's Damar Hamlin, who suffered a terrifying cardiac arrest at the start of the year, but was back on the field this fall. UNKNOWN: I didn't think it was possible.
FOREMAN: In baseball, the Arizona Diamondbacks wriggled into the World Series, only to be run over by the Texas Rangers in five games.
BERMAN: The Texas Rangers are really, really good.
BARRON-LOPEZ: When it's not a competitive World Series, it's not as much fun.
FOREMAN: In the NBA, Laker LeBron James made the best basket, the one that took him past Kareem, Carl, Kobe, and Michael to grab the all- time scoring record.
WILDER: The oldest player in the league, he's in his 21st season, that's crazy.
FOREMAN: But the best team was the Denver Nuggets, who cooled off the Miami Heat to take home the Mile High City's first NBA trophy.
WIRE: Nikola Jokic, star of the show, you know, he became the finals MVP. And in the NHL, the Vegas Golden Knights slayed the Florida Panthers to seize the holy grail of hockey, the Stanley Cup.
[22:40:00]
BERMAN: Makes you think about all those kids who grow up skating on the frozen ponds around Las Vegas and in Florida.
FOREMAN: College sports saw the undefeated Georgia Bulldogs grab a second straight football championship.
UNKNOWN: Go Dogs.
FOREMAN: A semi-final between LSU and Iowa produced the most watched women's basketball game of all time.
LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: These are incredible athletes. Give them their due, and then give them their pay equity, too.
FOREMAN: In women's soccer, Spain won the World Cup, then had the worst scandal as the federation president forcibly kissed a player.
FOSTER: I was just amazed, astonished, and shocked.
UNKNOWN: Messi, Messi.
FOREMAN: In men's soccer, international superstar Lionel Messi did the worst thing for the European leagues by moving his game to Miami. And 19-year-old Coco Gauff was the best female player at the U.S. Tennis Open, the first American team to take that title since the legendary Serena Williams in the 90s.
WILDER: Her climbing into the stands to see her family after, I mean, how can you not tear up?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN: Following all the different sporting events is difficult, but you know what's harder? Keeping up with all the television being produced these days. There's just so much of it. Dramas, comedies, movies, documentaries, and so much more.
UNKNOWN: You have greater purpose than any of us could have imagined.
FOREMAN: Game on. "The Last of Us", that post-apocalyptic series based on a computer game, had doubters at the start but --
OMAR JIMENEZ, CORRESPONDENT: I always get a little skeptical when you do a video game adaptation and try to do it in a TV show or a movie. I think they absolutely nailed it. They'll come at night. After a heart- pounding first season, they found the best way to wind down while keeping the door open for a second in 2025.
UNKNOWN: Trust me.
BERMAN: "The Last of Us" was my favorite show about fungus that I've like ever seen.
UNKNOWN: That's if only we survived all this time.
FOREMAN: Streaming services continue to rise over broadcast and cable, the worst part, picking which ones to subscribe to. The best, all the choices.
WIRE: We kind of know what we like and we know exactly where to go to get it and we don't do any of this channel surfing anymore.
UNKNOWN: For the next two years of your life, Mars is your new home.
FOREMAN: Established escapist dramas like "For All Mankind" ran hot, even as new arrivals like "One Piece" made a lot of noise, too.
UNKNOWN: I'm going to be king of the pirates.
UNKNOWN: We do not know who built the Silo.
BARRON-LOPEZ: "Silo" was my favorite TV show this year. It is about people in the future living in the Silo in the ground, and how the heck did they get to live there?
UNKNOWN: Oh my God, it's me! Oh, I'm so sorry. Oh, I'm sorry, it's me.
FOREMAN: The best comedies coming back for more included "Only Murders in the Building", "Ted Lasso".
BERMAN: It's such a nice show with nice people.
FOREMAN: And who can forget?
UNKNOWN: World famous Gemstone family.
FOREMAN: "The Righteous Gemstones". WILDER: It is so funny and these people are also so awful.
UNKNOWN: You get killed, I promise we will try to avenge you.
UNKNOWN: Take care of my wife and kids.
UNKNOWN: Say what?
UNKNOWN: What's up? Yeah, I feel like your kids are old enough.
UNKNOWN: If you promote the hell out of this story, you'll get the biggest numbers of the year.
FOREMAN: From Down Under came one of the best dramas for critics, "The News Reader".
FOSTER: When the Australians do drama well, it's just brilliant, gritty, amazing stuff.
UNKNOWN: We are pleased to invite you to attend unicorn academy?
FOSTER: Well, my television life these days with our five year old and three year old daughters consists of a lot, a lot of Barbie, a lot of unicorns, a lot of mermaids.
FRASIER: Surprise.
FOREMAN: For more grownup fans, long time icon Frazier got a reboot. It was the best for some and the worst for others.
UNKNOWN: It's not a good time.
UNKNOWN: Have you considered that he hates you?
BERMAN: It always fascinates me when things get relaunched that no one asked for. Like, who is clamoring to see a new Frasier?
UNKNOWN: I'm sorry.
FOREMAN: Worst way to patronize older viewers while pretending you're not, the golden batch.
BARRON-LOPEZ: If it doesn't work out for some of these women, you know, because only one gets picked.
UNKNOWN: You made it sound like you chose me.
BARRON-LOPEZ: What if they die of heartbreak?
UNKNOWN: This is the most unorthodox trial that I've presided over.
FORMEMAN: The best mockumentary series was "Jury Duty". Imagine if everyone knew the whole scene was a setup, except.
UNKNOWN: You're number 54?
UNKNOWN: Me?
JIMENEZ: It was some of the most entertaining and hilarious TV I've seen all year.
UNKNOWN: You're a murderer.
UNKNOWN: No, no. I mean, she -- yes.
FOREMAN: Worst and best way to stir up the nest again. Give it to the latest season of "Yellow Jackets".
WILDER: I was watching with my ears plugged and my eyes closed and my husband was like, I don't think this is fun for you.
[22:45:00]
FOREMAN: Best guilty pleasure for fans of the always steamy "Bridgerton", the spin-off "Queen Charlotte".
UNKNOWN: A peaceful end to place.
COATES: I was on a plane and quickly realized you cannot watch that on a plane. If there's anyone behind you, forget it.
UNKNOWN: Why don't we go out and celebrate?
UNKNOWN: We're all in the same boat now.
FOREMAN: Best return from the dry cleaners. The legal drama "Suits" drew huge audiences on Netflix years after its cable run ended. Now, there's talk of bringing it back, paging Meghan Markle.
UNKNOWN: It never stops, does it?
UNKNOWN: We're going to be sending you to a culinary school.
FOREMAN: There was plenty more to choose from. The bear, beef.
UNKNOWN: Actions have consequences.
FOREMAN: Poker face.
UNKNOWN: Look out!
FOREMAN: But the best finale by far can only go to one show.
UNKNOWN: We've been schooled by a barbarian that goes by the name Lurkin Roy.
FOREMAN: And that was succession. The worst family burned itself down in the very best way.
JIMENEZ: It was just fun to be along for that ride and, of course, hear that iconic theme song music.
WILDER: I think the whole point of "Succession" was that no character is redeemable.
UNKNOWN: I want to change the opposition. Cut that throat.
FOREMAN: So, what else is there to plunder out in the universe? Well, don't go away, because we're coming right back. And when we return -- another year goes by and we still don't know what's up in the sky. Not to mention, where did all the pandas go? And is that $3 trillion in your pocket or are you just happy to be watching "All The Best, All The Worst 2023?"
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[22:50:00]
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FOREMAN: Nearly 200 rocket launches lit up the skies around the world this year, some paving the way back to the moon and maybe on to Mars, including the most powerful ever.
UNKNOWN: The super heavy booster has just experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly.
FOREMAN: Well, they're working on it. Best jump up in the game, India landing a probe on the moon, becoming only the fourth lunar nation.
WIRE: There is a new space race happening.
WILDER: If we establish a base on the moon and launch from there, great. Then that seems like a smart use of our time.
FOREMAN: The best postcards home came from the Webb Telescope.
BERMAN: I don't know what we'll do with them, but they're cool to look at.
FOREMAN: The best souvenirs came from the Osiris spacecraft, which brought bits of an asteroid to Earth. Also, some T-shirts.
FOSTER: Is it really just about exploration, or is it really about commercializing space, getting minerals, countries need to grow their economies?
FOREMAN: Worst out of this world mystery, despite repeated government hearings on UFOs, we still don't know what they are but officials now call them Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon. So, I guess that's fixed.
UNKNOWN: No, I don't like it. I don't like it. Bring back UFOs.
FOREMAN: Down in the sea, the worst news came from the Titan submersible, which imploded while diving off the Titanic wreckage. All five people aboard lost. On land, the best news came from the World Health Organization, which says COVID is no longer a global emergency.
WIRE: Hallelujah. Life back to normal.
BERMAN: You don't need to wear a mask everywhere you go. You can see your friends. You can hug your friends. It's nice.
FOREMAN: Worst nature news in black and white. Orcas attacking boats for reasons unknown, sinking at least three.
COATES: Well, that always made sense to me. You're going to be called a killer whale. I don't know.
FOREMAN: The other worst news in black and white, China recalling its pandas from American zoos.
WILDER: It seems petty but it's petty in a way that I sort of have to respect it.
FOREMAN: In business, the worst payoff, Fox News coughed up more than three quarters of a billion dollars to Dominion voting systems to avoid a trial on how the network pushed election lies. Worst change, Twitter became X.
COATES: I gave up saying things like the formerly known as when Prince changed his name. I'm just going to call it Twitter.
FOREMAN: Best ride. More than a million electric cars are expected to have been sold in the U.S. this year. That's a record, and it's nine percent of the new passenger car market.
BARRON-LOPEZ: I would think it'd be more at this point. Worst getaway from the grime. Sam Bankman-Fried's fast trip from crypto king to incarceration. Best fresh fruit. Apple's market value reached $3 trillion roughly matching the GDP of the United Kingdom.
JIMENEZ: I don't understand why my iPhones are so expensive then.
FOREMAN: Worst end of an era. Netflix finally stopped doing what it started in 1998, shipping DVDs to customers. Best new show place, it's big, it's round, it lights up.
JIMENEZ: The Vegas Sphere is awesome. I hope it stays around for a long time.
FOREMAN: The best numbers to measure the nation. The U.S. population hit about 336 million. Between births, deaths, and immigration, there is a new American every 19 seconds. Most popular baby names, Olivia and Noah.
WILDER: I know a little Noah and I guess I know a little Olivia, too. They're great kids.
FOREMAN: The state with the most people -- California. The least?
WIRE: Burma.
BARRON-LOPEZ: Rhode Island.
WIRE: New Hampshire.
FOREMAN: Wyoming.
BARRON-LOPEZ: Oh, yes. I should have known that.
FOREMAN: And the most popular American pet, for the first time in more than 30 years, is not the Labrador Retriever. It's the French Bulldog, Zutalo. Everyone sit, stay. We have just enough time for our wishes for the New Year when we come back.
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[22:55:00]
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FOREMAN: It's been a remarkable year, but you made it this far and that's an accomplishment. So, as we brace for the next 12 months, we want to leave you with our wishes for the year ahead.
JIMENEZ: My one wish is for people to legitimately for a day be able to pick someone and to go actually walk a day in their shoes.
FOSTER: I wish that everyone on social media would go and follow people they don't agree with and look at what those people say every day. My second wish is Taylor Swift tickets.
COATES: I want people to disagree agreeably. I'd love there to be some return of a sense of community that I think has been lacking for some time.
WIRE: Peace, love, joy, happiness, success, and pain. Because I think pain can be our greatest teacher.
BARRON-LOPEZ: My wish for America in the coming year is that democracy holds strong, that it prevails.
BERMAN: You know, I just want to make it to the next one. My wish is for peace -- here's to hoping for peace in 2024.
FOREMAN: Thanks to our guests. Thank you for watching. On behalf of everyone at "Anderson Cooper 360" and the CNN family worldwide, I'm Tom Foreman, wishing you all of the best and none of the worst in 2024.
